The Colgate women’s soccer team had a great week in the Patriot League. They defeat­ed Lafayette, 2-0 on Friday and continued on to beat Lehigh 2-1 on Sunday afternoon. These two wins secured the Raiders a spot in the Patriot League Tournament.

The Raiders were ready and waiting for their game against Lafayette. Colgate start­ed the game strong and controlled most of the offensive play in the first half. They had many offensive opportunities that came close to resulting in goals. Lafayette’s goalkeeper, Lauren Smedley, was forced to remain on high alert for the majority of the first half.

Colgate outshot the Leopards 8-0, but were rewarded for their efforts. With only a little more than a minute left in the first half, junior midfielder Alyssa Manoogian sent a long-ball through to junior forward Jillian Kinter, who was able to use her speed to beat the defenders and put the ball in the lower right corner of the net.

Colgate held the advantage over Lafayette going into the second half. With the Leop­ards’s sense of urgency heightened, the game became notably more physical. This resulted in a yellow card for Lafayette. However, Coglate remained unperturbed and continued to use creative offensive maneuvers looking for another goal. At the 56th minute, junior Elise Amioka sent a leading pass to Kinter who managed to score, but was called offsides.

This only fueled the Raiders offense. At 61:33, only five minutes later, Kinter sped down the left wing, beating the defenders to pass along the endline to first-year forward Jenna Raepple. Raepple one-timed it into the back of the net, resulting in a score of 2-0 for the Raiders.

Although Lafayette picked up their game trying to close the gap and forced junior goal­keeper and co-captain Ashley Walsh to make a couple difficult saves, they were unsuccessful.

Colgate continued their winning streak when they played Lehigh on Sunday. Lehigh came out to a aggressive start, taking the first shots on goal and forcing Colgate’s defense to work to keep the ball out of the net. However, the Raiders soon found their stride and took the lead when first-year midfielder Jenna Gibney took a shot from 35 yards out that went into the top of the net. Sophomore midfielder Kelsey Hough assisted.

The Raider’s continued to pressure Lehigh with newfound enthusiasm after their first goal. The Mountain Hawks’ goalkeeper Ashley Blanks had her work cut out for her but managed to make two incredible saves that kept Lehigh in the running. However, with three minutes left in the half, junior midfielder Alyssa Manoogian received a cross ball from Kinter and was able to volley it into the net. This left Colgate with an advantage of 2-0 going into the second half.

Lehigh felt the pressure entering the second half and upped their offensive play. The Mountain Hawks’ outshot Colgate 7-1 in the first 22 minutes of play, seeking a goal to close the gap. However, the Raiders retaliated with a couple offensive plays of their own to reduce the strain on their defense. This did not stop Lehigh, and the team continued their attack, taking multiple shots from all over the field and really putting the pressure on junior goalkeeper Ashley Walsh. They were able to sneak one through at 88:46 to leave the final score at 2-1. Walsh had a game-high of seven saves for Colgate.

Next week, Colgate will host American in their final regular-season game. The game will be held on Saturday, October 29 at 7 p.m. on Van Doren field. This final game will be the deciding factor of whether Colgate will win the regular-season title and earn the first seed in the Patriot League Tournament.

Contact Tira Hastings at [email protected].